Try and whistle with Polvoron in your mouth – puffftff! Or say “Sally sells sea shells by the seashore”! Remember those childhood games when one would put a piece of Polvoron in the mouth and then try whistling? It is also a favorite ‘pasalubong’ (home coming gift) when we travel abroad to visit relatives and friends. Why, cause it’s so tedious to make. All that pressing and wrapping! but when one does it with family or friends, it’s actually a time to bond and exchange gossip. Yes, one can just buy the commercial type but there’s nothing to compare a home made Polvoron made with love and laughter. Ingredients: 900 grams (6 1/2 cups) all purpose flour 5 cups (1 kilo) sugar 400 grams powdered full cream milk 1 cup (225 grams) butter 1 cup Star margarine 1 cup margarine 2 cups finely ground cashew nuts – optional Procedure: In a heated oven at 300ºF or 160ºC or in a wok over low fire, roast flour, mixing and turning until cooked. The flour must smell roasted; it will be slightly brown. This takes about 1/2 hour more or less. Remove from oven or fire. Blend in sugar and milk; mix thoroughly. Add butter, margarines and nuts if desired. Mix thoroughly again. Using a Polvoron press, mold Polvoron by filling the press and pressing hard. Place on a cookie tray till ready to wrap. Cut different colored Papel Japon (tissue paper) into 5-inch or 6-inch squares and wrap each Polvoron individually. Place one piece at the center and fold over one side; then the other side and then twist the ends to close. Notes: Since the Polvoron is so fragile, some cooks like to bake the finished pieces in preheated oven for about 10 minutes to allow the butter to melt into the flour and be more manageable. It does come out a bit like a cookie and harder to say “Sally sells sea shells…..”. You can also bring it back to the fire, after mixing in the margarines and continue to cook over very low fire for about 10 minutes. The procedure above is the old fashioned way of baking...